Tree of light

I just thought I would write a quick post about the new Christmas light that I made. My lovely mum gave John a box of chocolates from my beloved M&S but the box was quite a special little wooden box with a clasp. Once the chocolates were all gone (it doesn't take him long), I took the opportunity to recycle the box so I filled it full of fairy lights. It now sits proudly in my lounge like a little festive beacon.

A very cheap Crimbo decoration. Don't forget to look differently at everyday things, you might surprise yourself with what you can up-cycle! 

Green with envy....

I am very lucky to work with some wonderful women, one of which is Miss Selina Bracey, the owner of these shoes. I am always asking everyone to let me know if they find any second-hand bargains that I can write about and she was kind enough to bring in these beauties for me to see.

They were found in a little place called Chipping Sodbury, just north of Bristol, in a St Peters Hospice shop no less! And they cost a mere £4. She has admitted that she has not yet worn them but for £4, they can rest in her wardrobe guilt-free.  They are lovely dancing shoes, Ginger would be proud I am sure.

The backdrop for the photos is Caldicot Castle, which is just down the road from our new homestead. I  happily while away the hours there with my beautiful dog, watching the birds on the lake and kicking up the leaves. It's a lovely place, heaven for dog walkers. I have met so many nice while walking, already we feel part of the community.

That said, I am not quite sure Phil the Park Ranger was too impressed with Solo the other week. He got into a field of sheep and had a go at sheep herding. I was quite impressed to be fair, he seemed to know what he was doing. The tale got around and people now stop me and ask if he is the dog that caused all the commotion. 

That's my boy. 

On the eighth day of Christmas, a true friend gave to me.....

A gorgeous hand-painted, Polish china jug.

I met my friend Ewa at university 7 years ago. We had both signed up to do a French and Tourism degree at the University of the West of England in Bristol. From that first day I met her, she has never ceased to amaze me.  Firstly, for the fact that she started a university course after having a beautiful baby just a few weeks previous. Secondly because she is an incredibly funny woman and I have always been impressed at how she gets the British dark, sarcastic humour. To me, being funny in a language that is not your mother tongue, is always very impressive.  And thirdly because of her un-resounding attitude to never giving up. She has had to deal with so much in her young life and at times has had little or no support other than what she herself, has brought to the table. 

She never complains, always puts on a smile and continues to fight for all the things that are important to her.......family, roots, and the constant belief that there is a much better life out there for her and her gorgeous son and she won't stop until she gets there. 

To say I am proud of her would be a massive understatement.  In the last year, she (and her friend Gabby) have worked tirelessly on building up their own business (often while working full time in another job they hate so they can pay the rent and chase the dream). And it is finally coming to fruition. 

The Chouchou is the result. You can buy beautiful handmade Polish goods, pottery and other handcrafted items. It's still in its infancy but the foundation is there and it can only grow and grow. 

So take a look, you may just find something you like and place an order. And if you do, you can do it knowing that you are supporting an amazing woman that I am privileged to call my friend. 

Fine Dining.....

Since starting my blog, I often stress that I have nothing to write about. Contrary to popular opinion, I don't spend every waking moment in charity shops spending all my money. But I keep forgetting that I also started it so it could become a sort of online scrapbook, a record of my journey along this amazing road called life. So with that in mind, I thought I would post about my house and the work we have been doing renovating it.

This is our dining room (banqueting hall as I like to call it!), finally finished all but a bit of radiator paint and a cream carpet. I wanted it done for Christmas Day so this is the one room where we decided to do a "quick fix".  No stripping out everything and re-plastering. We have just painted, wallpapered and put some finishing touches.

 I am not sure if you can see this very well but I have painted "Bon appetit" above the patio doors in red paint. If you click on the photo it's a little clearer. It was my step daughters idea and I thought it was lovely. We needed something to take away from the fact that we ran out of wallpaper and we didn't paper above the doors. At £50 a roll, we made every bit stretch as far as possible. We even naughtily went back to B&Q for an extra long sample to fill the last bit of wall that we needed.

 Eventually I will have the chaise longue covered professionally (pictured below just behind the table) but at the moment a sofa throw will have to suffice. It does the job though. All the dark wood furniture was John's from his old house and again, eventually we will try and strip them down and vanish them as there are a few bits of evidence of where the legs became dog chews (not my beautiful boy I hasten to add).

 I am so pleased with the result. I am going to spray paint the radiator gold, and the plan is for a cream carpet (I wanted red but my friend Harriet made some comment about the red room of pain
from Fifty Shades, so I was overruled).  Cream will mean that it is not a dog friendly room so he will
be most perturbed to be put out at mealtimes, instead of sitting proudly at my side waiting for scraps.

While writing this however, I have been reminded that the gold mirror that takes centre stage on the wall, was in fact from a charity shop in Weston. It was £10 and although not a very popular choice with John (or many others to be honest!), I love it and he can appreciate that it sets the room off nicely.....even if it would never be his personal choice. 

As for other goings on in my life.......

I had a trip to the hair dressers and I have changed my hair colour to red. I do this every few years....I get bored and want a much warmer colour than my own. 

John is making good progress on project "Imelda Marcus" upstairs. The dressing room is starting to take shape.......hoping for a completion date by February. 

And I am trying to get myself into the Christmas spirit but failing miserably. Not sure why, just not feeling it this year. Just watching all the madness in BHS (our little concession is right next to the Christmas shop), it has made me realise how materialistic we have all become. People fighting to get just another item for so and so, or the 20th present for a child that already has a Kindle, Xbox and goodness knows what. I think the essence of Christmas has been lost along the way sadly. Family, food and fun should be the order of the day and maybe a little gift to put a big smile on someone's face.

I have already had my Christmas gift from the lovely people at Santander who kindly gave us a mortgage when so many other fat cat banks said No. So Santa, you can bypass me this year. I am already in credit. 

Cheer me up Chepstow!

What do you do when you want to cheer yourself up? I am sure that depending on who you posed the question to, a million different answers could be heard. One of my favourite things is to have a lovely bath, full of expensive over the top bubble bath and a glass of wine. But alas, in Merchant-Locke Towers, that is not to be. Not yet anyway.  The water tank cannot support my kind of baths. It barely fills it to cover your legs. This would normally be a massive issue for me as I also love baths when I am feeling particularly cold (which is all the time) but John has a list of priorities for the house and sumptuous bath time isn't on it.

So, I returned to another old fave in a bid to cheer myself up. Pop out for a little treat (and not of the posh cake kind). I took myself off on a whim this morning to the next town along from us here in Caldicot which is Chepstow. A lovely little place steeped in history, housing a lovely castle and a fabulous array of charity shops and second-hand emporiums. I went with a budget of £30, justified by the fact it has been pay day recently, a carrier bag (they aren't freely given in Wales) and set off in search of vintage delights. I have to say in terms of cheering myself up, it was very successful.  

Between the Oxfam shop, the British Red Cross and some more local, independent second-hand shops, I came out with a bevy of beauties and all still under budget.

This gorgeous dress from Jaeger has to be the find of the day. Being a lover of second-hand clothing, I don't often get to feel true luxury because most of the things I love have already been loved by someone before me. But occasionally you are lucky enough to find a new item, still with tags and that lovely, crisp, virgin feeling the minute you slide it on. That was the case with this dress. It was £12 but the original tag said £165. I often remain dumbfounded as to who these people are that give away items like this to worthy causes. And also, why the shop wasn't charging more for it or at least not trying to sell it on-line to get the maximum they could for their charity. Anyway, it was obviously my lucky day. Everything about it is beautiful. The feel, the colour, the style. Perfect. 

Still in the same colour story but a very different style, I couldn't pass on this Chanel style cardigan. Black and cream would have been amazing but this is still a winner. I am not a lover of cardigans unless  there is something a bit different about them.  Chanel style copies.....yes. Audrey Hepburn style twinsets..... yes. Heavily beaded numbers a la Joan Collins....yes. Standard cardi's....NO. So in a bid to not look too much like a member of the "blue rinse set", I plan to pair this with my red high heel ankle boots and skinny jeans. Wide leg classic black trousers or even cigarette pants would also look great for a slightly classier look. And a heavy string of pearls if I am feeling very daring.

I have written before of my love of all things cobalt blue and although this top is a tad smock-like, it 

looks lovely on. Originally from Zara, it was priced at £3.25 and is in great condition. 

Despite my endless wardrobe options, tops always seem to vex me somewhat. I don't know why, I am just not good at finding ones I like or ones that suit. I went through years of just throwing  a smart suit jacket over a vest top for a quick down how pub outfit rather than try and find a top I was happy with. They still cause me problems now but I am starting to favour a few key pieces that I love and feel confident in and I hope this will be one of them. I think a nice, silver, statement brooch will set it off perfectly. 

And finally.....

This won't be everyone's cup of earl grey and it was definitely one of those impulse buys you know you will question later BUT......I am a big fan of the Wilma Deering look (lovers of Buck Rogers unite) and when not wearing her spray-painted cat suits, she was occasionally seen in dresses like this one. Quilted collar, cuffs and belt, finely pleated throughout and in gorgeous jewel tones. Here comes that sentence again......."it's a little tight", but I shall be tackling my weight (again) in the new year and until then I shall not give up on the idea of this dress.  

No matter how much John mocks me.